Facebook relies heavily on online commerce and has just announced new tools aimed at businesses, but also at customers, via the Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp applications. For this, the publisher is relying on the Shops service which allows businesses to sell online free of charge until June 2022. In the United States, it will be possible for sellers to integrate the products of Boutiques in the Facebook Marketplace.
Chat with the seller in WhatsApp
To make its service available to the greatest number of users, Facebook has just announced that it will be available in WhatsApp, for certain countries. Thus, the customer can discuss with the seller by messaging and ask questions before making his purchase.
The other advance is at the level of Instagram. Users will be able to view photos and videos from the community, as well as reviews and comments of Boutiques’ products on Instagram. They will have a large amount of information before they make their purchases. For their part, the companies that sell will have elements to know if they are meeting the needs of their customers.
Search for similar articles using AI
Facebook also wants to improve the online shopping experience by using augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Thus, Instagram users will be able to have a better view of the products they plan to buy using augmented reality. And thanks to artificial intelligence, it will be possible to search for similar items, for example by tapping on the image of a garment that you like or by taking a photo of a dress that you are wearing. Facebook indicates that tests will be launched this year on this concept of visual search powered by AI.
Artificial intelligence will also come to the aid of companies, in particular through its GrokNet technology. This is able to identify the image of a product and automatically place it in a category, for example sofas. It can also automatically assign attributes such as color and style to it. This makes it easier for sellers to categorize and label their products. Facebook emphasizes the versatility of GrokNet, which is not dependent on any particular product category.
